This Toilet Tuesday (8/4/15)

Alas, Toilet Tuesday is upon me. You had best brace yourselves, dear flushalos, for I have foreseen many a weeping wallet in the near future. The month of August will be relentless, with more quality releases than any of us can keep up with. Your ever-faithful music scouts have weathered the initial onslaught and presented to you what they managed to catch, because screw food and lodging; there’s metal to be had.

Ahh, it does my dead, rotting heart good to see new material from Mories. Abyss of Longing Throats is Gnaw Their Tongues’ first full-length in three years, and based on the three tracks I’ve heard, it’s well set to live up to the darkly twisted expectations we all have. “Through Flesh” is a disorienting ride through a hellish soundscape, but the whole song retains an almost grand, cinematic scope due to Mories’ affinity for orchestral flavorings. While the title track, “Abyss of Longing Throats,” contains less twists and turns, it is no less unsettling at its furious, insistent pace. Layers of fuzzy guitars, mechanical groanings, and unrelenting drums are permeated with his signature background shriek, pausing only for a haunted spoken word section. “From the Black Mouth of Spite” may be the most menacing of the three; cold, unmistakably industrial drums march on, while Mories’ knack for painting unsettling auditory landscapes is on full display. Preorder here, and remember this one for your end-of-year lists. 8/7/15 (Stockhausen)

I was unfamiliar with West Virginia’s Nechochwen before this week, and as of writing, I’ve only heard one song by the band. However, as of writing, I’ve heard that song four or five times, and I’m not stopping anytime soon. The driving elements of black metal mixed with folk tinged harmonic ideas are positively infectious, and I can’t stop pressing play again and again. Additionally, the band is dedicated to themes of Native American heritage, a topic I wish was explored further in metal. I may be hearing things, but I’m hearing an anthemic quality to this tune that’s almost power metal-esque, and man it is addictive. Power metal nerds are either going to revolt or call me on their own now, including me on discussions about leather pants and the most effective acne treatment. Either way, I’m ready to jam this Nechochwen album. 8/4/15 (Stockhausen)

This is one of those bands that I wasn’t really sure what to make of at first. “Mangan no Yoake” has a weird major-key black metal feel (which I’m sure is going to draw a deafheaven comparison), but the synth chords on top of everything give it an almost uncomfortable layer of tension. The latter half of the song has a jazzy vibe to it, a vibe that is shared on the somewhat more straightforward “Kusanagi no Tsurugi.” I imagine this is what a happy Opeth would have played in their pre-Heritage days, but I might just be crazy. Give it a listen and decide for yourself. 8/5/15 (Spear)

Have you encountered any reviews of Krisiun’s latest? I have, and all of them seemed to agree that Forged In Fury was not… well, forged in fury, but rather one of Krisiun’s less brilliant releases. Hearing “Scars of The Hatred” had unfortunately led me to the same conclusion. Playing less to their melodic capabilities and strongly to the chug (plus having overall less interesting ideas on both sides) wasn’t maybe their best idea. Why am I lifting this album from all the new releases then? Krisiun is one of those bands who don’t seem to be capable of making an outright bad album so if chuggy death metal is what you seek Krisiun has you covered (again) with FIF. It’s only mediocre when compared to the standards set by the band themselves. 8/7/15 (Karhu)

Many of you know of my beef with this band. But it seems to me that I have achieved a relative peace with them. Their older releases no longer excite me at all (whereas they used, hence the disappointment) but The Anthropocene Extinction is different. Pretty much all songs feature Travis Ryan showing his vocal-capabilities (via “Gollum”-screeches or cleans of varying degrees) and the songwriting feels more focused than on earlier efforts. Despite never lacking speed, Anthropocene Extinction never feels grnding, more like extreme speed metal. All in all an excellent release and the bands only one I enjoy as a whole. 8/7/15 (Karh Bear)

Start your morning off right with some human sacrifice courtesy of Hivelords. The Filthydelphia (I’m sorry) quintet play a sinewy blend of sludge and black metal that, much like the quartered fellow on the cover of Tapered Limbs of a Human Star, manages to transcend its corporeal constituent parts. At times psychedelic, at other times disorienting, but always heavy, “Vessel” is a track that requires multiple spins to comprehend. I look forward to jamming the rest of this. FFO: The Atlas Moth, Sadgiqacea, Tombs 8/4/15 (W.)

2015 has seen some great brutal death metal. Visceral Decay bring the slams and blasts and groove that your filthy heart craves. The band is a little less cerebral than some of the other groups making this kind of ruckus, but judging from these three tracks, you’re certainly going to be slamming. FFO: Embodied Torment, Dying Fetus, Iniquitous Deeds 8/6/15 (W.)

A few weeks ago I went to see False and noticed that local band Dead to a Dying World was opening. I had heard the name but hadn’t listened to them and once they hit the stage I realized that was a grave mistake. Dead to a Dying World mixes black metal and doom like so many bands these days, but they do it with a sense of emotional weight that few other bands match. If peaks and valleys in music is your thing, it’s going to be hard to find an album that satisfies your soul quite like Litany does. 8/4/15 (‘Stachebear)